We seemed to be extra lucky today receiving not just one post card in the mail but two!
The first card we received was from Kim in Taiwan. It is of an old Taiwanese train taken in Kashsiung, in the South of Taiwan. This card travelled 7,760 Kilometres over 6 days to get to us!
Taiwanese Train
Well today we received a postcard from Xandra in the Netherlands.
It was sent on the 25th of November and took 12 days to get here after traveling a staggering 17,051 Kilometres!
Holland Cows
Today we received two wonderful cards. One from China it was of the Giant Panda’s. WangLi explained on the back of the card how to write ‘Giant Panda’ in Chinese characters, which was really cool! Today I want to try and encourage the children to write it themselves in the Chinese characters – Maybe if they see me trying they will attempt it themselves! – If they do I shall be sure to add their attempts here…
This card travelled 8,616 Kilometres over 11 days to land in our mail box!
Giant Panda's - China
The second postcard we received was from Cindy in Taiwan. It shows the ‘Cave of the eight immortals’. This is a very interesting place and yet information was not easy to find for us.
We did however learn the following after reading on the following website – www.taiwan.com.au
Basiandong is located in the north of Huatung Mountain by the coast of Changbin Township. “Basian”, or the Eight Immortals, are famous Chinese deities. Fogs drift perpetually around the caves and the interior is damp and misty. As the environment resembles that in the folklore when the eight deities cross the ocean, the caves were named Basian. In the caves, Taiwan’s first prehistoric site was discovered. As the earth’s crusts elevated, the mountains were constantly eroded by the sea and 16 caves of different sizes were formed along the cliff as high as 100 meters
For more information about this interesting place please visit www.taiwan.com.au
Cave of the Eight Immortals - Taiwan
Today we also received a beautiful postcard from Yuko in Japan. The postcard is of the Dragon Dancing in Suwa Shrine.
This is taken during the Nagasaki Kunchi which is a festival of Suwa Shrine, held all over central Nagasaki on October 7th – 9th each year.
Dragon Dance dedicated to Suwa Shrine
Apparently the Nagasaki Kunchi has been celebrated for more than 370 years. It incorporates different aspects of Chinese and Dutch cultures, which have played a significant role in the city’s history. The festival’s name is believed to come from ku-nichi which has a literal meaning of “9th day” - the ninth day of the ninth month of the lunar calendar.
The festival highlights include a variety of dance and show performance performed by various local groups that represent Nagasaki’s various city districts. Each year there are around five to seven ‘groups’ that perform. These groups present traditional Japanese dances, Chinese influenced dragon dances or performances involving large floats, many of which are shaped like ships.
Participants join in only once every seven years, so this festival remains fresh to even the regular viewer.
Today we received a beautiful postcard from Chingyi in Japan. The image is taken of Jozenji – Dori Avenue.
Apparently Jozenji-Dori Avenue is lined with many green and beautiful Zelkova tress, filling the areas between the buildings. The Avenue has bronze sculptures represented by the El Greco’s “Memory of Summer” scattered all around the promenade throughout the median strip. The Jozenji-Dori Avenue is said to be the symbol road of Sendai – the capital of green, where both green and art can be enjoyed together.
It is said that the ‘Pageant of Starlight’ takes place here in the month of December, with the rows of Zelkova trees decorated with beautiful lights illuminating the Avenue.
Jozenji - Dori Avenue
